The treaty of Paris, which is the supreme law of the land with respect to the Philippines, committed to Congress the government of those islands. But nearly two years have passed under that treaty, while Congress has done nothing in that direction; and now it is given out from the administration at Washington that “in the Philippines it is the administration plan to institute local self-government as rapidly as possible, and to restore order with a rigid military hand. No one expects the Philippine question to come before Congress in any practical way at this session.” When both Congress and the administration ignore or disregard the supreme law of the land, how can anything be expected other than that lawlessness in general shall fill the whole land?